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Last month, I wrote about my brother’s lack of success with a tried-and-true peach cobbler recipe that he baked at the base of the Teton Mountain Range and attributed ithe failure to altitude sickness, or something along those lines. He said the batter never firmed up, and the whole thing emerged from his oven a gloppy mess.
I know that altitude can affect baking, but I don’t know how, so my brother said he would consult a friend of his who understood the complexities of baking at any altitude and let me know how to combat the ravages of thinner air on peach cobbler. Not that we have that problem here in Wimberley, where the air seems as thick as a damp dishrag on overcast days. When he called the next day, he was laughing. Apparently, he said, substituting cornstarch for baking powder doesn’t cut it in Wyoming. He discovered the mistake the next morning when he added cornstarch to his pancake batter and created another gloppy mess. Figuring the baking powder had expired, he checked the date on the box and realized he wasn’t using baking powder. He tried the cobbler recipe again with baking powder, and it worked. Perhaps to redeem himself in my eyes, he shared one of his favorite recipes with me—a glorious concoction of massive shrimp, paired with the edgy, fiery sweetness of mango salsa and rounded out with garlic butter. I have served it to friends twice now, and the only problem I can see is that I never make enough shrimp. I don’t think it’s possible to make enough of these shrimp. I think people will eat all of them, no matter how many I make, and then crave more. This is a recipe that tastes to me of summer and ocean. It reminds me of walking down unpaved roads crusted in broken seashells and lined with the |
scaly grandeur of coconut palms, of sun-warmed mangos eaten out of hand against the backdrop of an impossibly blue sea. It is salty and sweet and decadent in its richness.But mostly what I like about it is the time I spent on the phone with my brother, comparing cooking strategies, revising seasonings, sharing a passion for food that runs rampant in my family. My brother is a man who lives on the sides and tops of mountains, who used to leave his bedroom windows open in the dead of winter when we were young so that he could burrow deeper in his 50 below down sleeping bag and dream of climbing the world’s largest ice sculptures. He knows the back roads of Tibet, Nepal and Pakistan. He is conversant with the top of Everest.
I like water and solid ground. My sense of balance evaporates when it is lifted more than three feet off the ground. I froze on those winter nights, and my interest in Asia is the food. But so is his. There is our common ground, our shared passion. He is the only climbing guide to pack fresh salmon to the base camp of the Grand Teton for his clients the night before the ascent. I have heard that the other climbers and guides at the camp munch their dried food in disbelief as my brother roasts tender salmon over an open flame. Just as food can bring families together around a dinner table, so it can unite them over the miles and the distances in philosophies and altitudes. In a world rife with divisions, food is one of the great uniters. Try this recipe with rice cooked in chicken broth, to which you have added sautéed onion, diced avocado, tomato, cilantro and lime zest.
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Grilled Shrimp with Mango Salso This dish is messy!!! You have to dig in and get the garlic butter up to your elbows!!! 12 Colossal (U/12 or U/10) shrimp – the bigger the better 3 T Olive Oil Salt and pepper 4 T unsalted butter, softened 1T minced Garlic 1/3 Cup chopped fresh Parsley 1 Lemon juiced 2 T Mango salsa (diced mangoes, diced red bell peppers, diced red onions, minced jalapenos, minced garlic, lime juice, chopped cilantro, salt.) 4 dashes Worcestershire Sauce 1 Lemon - quartered lengthwise
Enjoy!
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